The Newest Guardian
by Raikana Sakaro
Summary: Yet another original character guardian, but this one is not a mummy. This is my first story and the chapters should come out pretty quickly. I don't know what else I can say that won't give the story away.
1. Discoveries

Disclaimers: I don't own Mummies Alive, the people who made it do, and I don't make any money off this.  
  
Note: This is my first story about Mummies Alive, and it's been probably three or four years since I've seen it. If any of my information is wrong, please tell me. I'll write chapters whenever I get the inspiration and free time. That means that the chapters should come out fairly quickly, since I have nothing better to do with my free time than write stories and obsess. I hope you like it, but I'll keep posting even if you don't like it. I just want to get one of my stories out there. -Celeste Jade  
  
Celestia walked into the museum, her fingers caressing the head of her snake necklace. She walked toward the Egyptian exhibits, a broad grin on her face. The benefactor of this museum, Harris Stone, must be intensely interested in Ancient Egyptian history. She felt her black hair rub against her shoulders as she hurried through the hallways. Her peripheral vision became almost nonexistent as she neared the exhibit. She felt something collide with her and heard a soft thud as she lost her balance. She toppled backwards and landed on her butt, her skirt falling between her legs, leaving her left leg mostly bare. She looked over and saw a boy sitting on the floor, his reddish-brown hair falling in his face. A rather tall, very thin man stood behind the boy, helping the child to his feet.  
  
Celestia got to her feet, rearranging her clothes into a more modest position. The boy, who was wearing medium green shorts and a bright green, short-sleeved shirt, held out his hand, a flush spreading over his tanned face.  
  
"Sorry about that," he said as they shook hands. "I'm Presley."  
  
"That's okay, Presley. It's nice to meet you. My name is Celestia."  
  
"What a heavenly name," Presley's companion said in a deadpan voice. She found that he spoke with a British accent.  
  
She smiled and giggled. "Good one," she said. She noticed that he was almost completely covered, despite that fact that it was summer. He was wearing a jacket, long pants, sneakers, a knit stocking cap, and even gloves. The only thing he wore that was appropriate was sunglasses. The skin she could see looked ashen gray.  
  
"Is your friend okay?" she whispered to Presley as they kept walking.  
  
"Him? Oh yeah, h(s fine."  
  
Just before they parted ways, she saw the man take out a notepad and pen, and he started writing in what she thought were hieroglyphics. She closed her eyes and shook her head, telling herself it must have been a trick of the light. She'd have to keep an eye open for those two. There was something strange about that man, she just wasn't sure what. Yet.  
  
[pic]  
  
  
  
Celestia walked through Golden Gate Park watching the colors of the dusk as it turned slowly to night. She was wearing very little, enjoying the caress of the cool night air on bare skin. She wore a blue skirt that fell to her ankles with a slit most of the way up one side. Her Y-shaped yellow belt was more for decoration than for holding her low-cut, hip-hugging skirt up. Her shirt consisted of no more than a sky blue, halter top. She wore her customary jewelry: an armband, a necklace, and a bracelet. Her armband was gold and reflected the golds, purples, oranges, and blues of the evening sky. The head of her snake necklace rested in the slight hollow where her collarbones met and there was a slight digging sensation where the tail rested against the side of her neck. The amethyst eyes glinted almost as if it were alive. Her bracelet, too, was shaped like a snake. The head rested on the back of her left hand and it curled once around her wrist before its tail stopped about halfway up her lower arm. Her black, patent leather boots creaked slightly as she walked.  
  
After a few minutes, she thought she heard the sounds of a struggle and took off at a run. When she reached the sounds, she ducked behind a tree to examine the situation. She saw a man in black robes with a pinkish-purple strip running down the front. He wore a tall hat that had a scarab the same color as the stripe on the front of his robes emblazoned on the front. His skin was extremely pale and he had what looked like the beard of an Egyptian Pharaoh on his chin. She caught a glimpse of the boy in his arms. It was Presley!  
  
She looked around desperately, trying to find a weapon. Not seeing anything except rocks, she took her belt and armband off. She tied the armband to the belt and picked up a few rocks for good measure.  
  
She pelted from behind the tree and rushed at the man, screaming at the top of her lungs and throwing rocks at him. She hoped that the surprise of being attacked would cause him to let go of Presley and they could run away.  
  
Instead, the man called, "Get her!"  
  
She wondered who he was talking to for all of one second before men in Egyptian kilts started emerging from behind him. Each of them carried a staff with a glowing pink tip. She swung her belt then the came into range, hoping to hit some of them. None of her desperate attempts worked and she soon found out what the staves did. She danced to avoid the beams from the weapons. She kept trying to hit on of the men, but failed miserably. One swing finally connected with a man's head. She expected to see him stagger and grab his head or, possibly, fall to the ground, unconscious. She was surprised when neither of these happened. Instead, his head shattered and the body fell to the ground. As she kept swinging, she realized that her weapon was woefully inadequate, but kept fighting.  
  
She was so caught up in what she was doing that she didn't hear the roar of vehicles behind her. She shattered one more man before seeing that two or three had their staves aimed directly at her. She closed her eyes and waited for the beams to find her. She felt herself being swept off her feet before the beams converged on her. She felt herself being pressed against a strong chest that was covered with metal. The arms encircling her also felt metallic. She opened her eyes and was looking up at a man wearing a falcon headdress of blue and yellow. His face was mostly in shadows, but his blue eyes reflected the light from the fading sky. She looked down and saw that she was about twenty feet off the ground. The man holding her came in closer and set her down on the ground before turning and flying back the way he had come. She followed him on foot as fast as she could. As she neared the battle again, she hid behind a tree to watch the four people. She saw the man who had taken her away from the battle along with three other people. One was dressed in armor shaped like a ram and had one arm made of gold. There was a woman who had the head of a cat and she wielded a whip with a small metal weight on the end. The last one was a man dressed in a cobra headdress with a sword in his hands.  
  
They all had an Egyptian style to their armor. All four of them defeated the crumbling men easily, but more kept coming. Falcon-man finally flew into the air and attacked the man in the black robes with one of his flaming arrows. The man let go of Presley for a split second, but that was all it took for the boy to get away. A couple times during the battle, she saw snake-man summon balls of green energy and throw them at the attackers. Right now, snake-man was fighting off three of the people while another lined up a shot behind him. She saw that the creature was going to shoot the man, so she forgot all rational thought, ran out, and launched a flying kick to its head. It shattered and fell to the ground with her straddling its back. Soon the man with the scarab hat transformed into beetle-like armor and flew away, clutching a golden snake staff in his hand.  
  
The four people immediately gathered around the small boy and began asking him questions. Most of them were about his state of being. She walked closer to see if Presley was okay. She slipped her armband back on and buckled her belt back around her hips. She brushed an errant lock of hair out of her face as she walked up behind the people. She wondered why they were calling Presley a prince as she caught snatches of conversation.  
  
"Hello, Presley. How are you?" she asked and all four people with him whirled around, their weapons at the ready. She backed off a few steps, her hands raised in front of her.  
  
"It's okay, guys. She won't hurt me," Presley protested.  
  
"You do not know that, my prince," falcon-man said over his shoulder.  
  
"He's right. I'm not going to hurt you or him."  
  
"Really, guys. It's okay. Me and Rath ran into her the other day at the museum. Literally." Presley grimaced at the memory.  
  
Falcon-man looked over at snake-man, who was apparently named Rath. Rath nodded. "He speaks the truth, Ja-Kal."  
  
Now that she looked closer, she saw that Rath was about the same height and build as the strange man in the museum. The four people lowered their weapons and Celestia just noticed that they, too, wore Egyptian kilts and there were bandages wrapped around them.  
  
"What do you want, then?" Ja-Kal asked her.  
  
"I wanted to see how Presley was, and now I want to know more about you guys. You look like you're undead or something. Re-animated mummies or some such nonsense. I thought those things only existed in horror films."  
  
Rath just looked at Ja-Kal. "Perhaps we should go back home," the gaunt man suggested.  
  
"Good idea," Ja-Kal replied. "You," he looked at Celestia questioningly.  
  
"Celestia," she supplied.  
  
"Celestia will ride in the Hot-Ra with the rest of you. I will fly home."  
  
Presley led her over to a car. That was the only word she could come up with to describe it. It was a mess of colors, but an organized mess. It had five seats in it, all with seatbelts.  
  
"You'll love this," Presley told her excitedly, pulling her to the long car. "Hey, Nefer-Tina, can I sit in Ja-Kal's seat?"  
  
The cat sighed and rolled her eyes. "Yes, Rapses, you may."  
  
"Cool!" Presley said, clambering into the second front seat. The Ram-man sat in the very back seat, which happened to be the largest. Rath climbed gracefully into one of the middle seats and Celestia took the second. Nefer- Tina closed a canopy over them and took off at high speeds. Celestia looked through the clear roof to see Ja-Kal above them, keeping pace.  
  
"Can we stop at Beefy Burger?" the ram-man in the back seat asked. "I'm hungry."  
  
"You're always hungry, Armon," Rath replied, looking annoyed. "There is food at home."  
  
  
  
[pic]  
  
"Wow."  
  
That was all Celestia could say. Ja-Kal and the others had just finished telling her their story. "I really thought that this only happened on horror movies or children's cartoon shows." She looked over at Rath. He had transformed out of his armor and now wore a green-and-gold hat that made him look a foot taller than Ja-Kal. "A couple times when you were fighting, I saw you throw balls of green energy. Where did you get them from?"  
  
"I am a magician. It was a rather simple spell."  
  
Celestia's eyes lit up. "You're a magician? Not just one of those people who do tricks and sleights-of-hand?"  
  
Rath almost looked insulted. "I assure you, I am a real magician. I know no tricks, only spells."  
  
"Which means that your god must be." she searched her memory of Egyptian Mythology, "Thoth. Right?"  
  
"Yes!" she exclaimed when Rath nodded. "Now I'm going to take a stab at the rest of you."  
  
"I thought you were not going to hurt us," Ja-Kal said, taking a defensive pose.  
  
Presley laughed. "No, guys. She just wants to guess what your god or goddess is."  
  
Celestia nodded. "Yeah, that's right. Sorry if I scared you or anything."  
  
She saw Ja-Kal relax and summoned memories of their armor. She turned to the lone woman. "You're pretty easy. Your goddess is Bastet." She turned back to Ja-Kal. "If I remember correctly, you looked kind of like Horus."  
  
"You know much, young lady," Ja-Kal told her.  
  
"Thanks. I've always liked Ancient Egypt and its mythology." She turned back to Armon. When his armor had disappeared, she found out that he really had only one arm. He must have lost the other one in some sort of battle. Right now, Armon was busy stuffing a sub into his mouth. "You." she started. "I don't know who your god is. I don't recall ever having seen a ram before."  
  
"His is the god Khnumn," Ja-Kal told her.  
  
Celestia nodded. "Okay. I don't think I've heard of the god before. Just goes to show that you learn something new every day. Who was that man who attacked Presley earlier?"  
  
"That was Scarab, a sorcerer from our time. He needs the soul of Rapses to become immortal," said Ja-Kal.  
  
"Okay," Celestia replied nodding. "So what were the things that did his fighting?"  
  
"Those are his minions, stone men called Shabties," Nefer-Tina told her.  
  
Celeste nodded her head decisively. She gathered up her courage and spoke. "I would like to join you," she announced.  
  
"What?!" Ja-Kal said. He looked just as surprised as the rest of them.  
  
"I would like to join you; to protect Presley."  
  
"Why?" was all the leader could get out.  
  
"Because I like Presley and I think it would be cool to fight evil like a superhero."  
  
"But you could get killed."  
  
"I'll take that risk." Celestia grinned like a cat. "Besides, I've always wanted some adventure. I know how to use a sword and, if Rath will teach me, I'd like to learn magic."  
  
"But you have no weapon or armor."  
  
"Well, where do you guys get them?"  
  
"From the magic in our amulets," Rath butted in.  
  
"Maybe you could teach me that spell," she suggested.  
  
"That is very advanced magic," he replied indignantly.  
  
"Perhaps, you could make one for me then?"  
  
Rath look warily at her and back at Ja-Kal, almost as if asking a question. Ja-Kal, in turn, looked at Celestia as if measuring her up.  
  
"I have a sword at home that I picked up from a Renaissance Festival one year. I could use that for a weapon." She looked Ja-Kal in his blue eyes, a pleading expression on her face.  
  
Ja-Kal sighed and shook his head. "I can't believe I'm doing this." he said. "Yes, you can stay here and become a guardian, but it is difficult. That is why we are mummies protecting Rapses reincarnated spirit, instead of warriors protecting Rapses. You have been warned."  
  
Celestia hopped up and ran over to Ja-Kal, flinging her arms around his neck. "Thank you, Ja-Kal!" 


	2. Armor

Disclaimers: Same as the last chapter. Celestia does belong to me, but (if you're so inclined) you can use her if you say she's mine  
  
Note: Again, same as the last time. I don't care if there are any reviews, I'll keep posting anyways. I have also been drawing pictures, so if you want to see what Celestia looks like, just contact me. And if there is any wrong information, please tell me and I will correct it (or at least try to). Sorry it took such a long time, but I was hindered.  
  
Celestia heard a muffled explosion as she walked in the sphinx. She hitched her backpack higher on her shoulder and hurried to Rath's lab. The scribe was just picking himself up off the floor and she helped him. She then looked at the table he had been working at. There were shards of glass on the tabletop and some on the floor. At least nothing was on fire. The scroll he had been working from had rolled itself back up, as if it was protecting itself.  
  
"Are you alright?" she asked Rath, who was pulling himself away from her.  
  
"I'm perfectly fine," he replied.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"I was conducting an experiment."  
  
"Maybe I could teach you what I know about chemistry," she suggested. "So something like this doesn't happen again."  
  
"What is chemistry?"  
  
"It's a science that deals with how different chemicals and elements react to each other. I think it was called Alchemy around the time you were alive, but people have discovered more elements and exacted the science." She made a face. "It's also a required course this year. I could teach you what I've learned."  
  
"I'll consider it," Rath replied coldly. He walked over to a shelf and retrieved a scroll from it. She peered over his shoulder, even though it was more like looking around his arm, to see what was on it. She saw the standard Egyptian hieroglyphs and shrugged. She moved around in front of him and looked up into his bright green eyes.  
  
"What's that?" she asked, pointing to the scroll.  
  
"That," he replied, "is the spell for making the amulets that we wear."  
  
"Really? Her purple eyes lit up. "Well, I've been thinking about that and I've made some sketches. Want to see?"  
  
He sighed. "I might as well. Especially if I want to do it right."  
  
"Okay." She pulled her backpack off and set it on the table, crunching sounds coming from the glass. She pulled out one of her notebooks and flipped it open to a certain page. She showed the drawings on the next few pages to him.  
  
"You are very detailed," he commented, still no emotion in his voice.  
  
"That's just the way I draw. All my other pictures in there are detailed, too. You can look at them if you want."  
  
"I only need these ones. Thank you." He turned back to the table and Celestia took that as her cue to leave. She went to the kitchen to get a drink and found Armon in there. He was looking through the refrigerator for a snack. She smiled and reached into her backpack, which was now hanging off one shoulder.  
  
"Hey, Armon. I've got something for you." The large mummy turned around, sniffing the air.  
  
"I smell." he started.  
  
"Beefy Burgers. It's left over from my lunch, but there's only one. I thought you might like it."  
  
"Thanks," Armon said, taking the hamburger in his hand. She grabbed a soda out of the fridge and went to the living room while Armon stuffed the burger, paper and all, into his mouth. She smiled once again as she sat on the couch Nefer-Tina was already in there, watching television.  
  
"What are you doing?" the other woman asked as she pulled a book out of her backpack.  
  
"I've got finals tomorrow and I have to study."  
  
"You are still in school?"  
  
"Yeah," Celestia replied, "but it's my last year. I don't have school next year. I can also move out of my house next year."  
  
Nefer-Tina looked concerned. "What will you do if you move away from your parents' house?"  
  
"I can come here to live with you guys." Celestia stayed there all night, studying. She finally left at around ten-thirty so she could get some sleep before the next day.  
  
88  
  
The next day, Celestia came to the sphinx and immediately collapsed on the couch next to Armon. She had a soda in her hand and took a swig of it. "Finally!" she said to no one in particular. "I'm done!"  
  
"Done with what?" Armon asked  
  
"School," she replied. "All I have to do now is wait for my report card to come in."  
  
"Good," a voice from the doorway. Celestia turned to see Rath standing there. "Now you can learn magic like you wanted to."  
  
"You'll teach me? Thank you!" She made herself stay seated so she wouldn't embarrass Rath.  
  
"Do you have a certain necklace that would work well for an amulet?" he asked her.  
  
She fingered the one around her neck. "Would this one do?  
  
"Yes. I can enchant all of your jewelry so that it will become part of your armor."  
  
"Really? Okay." She walked over to him, her necklace, bracelet, and armband in hand, and gave them to him.  
  
"Now you can get your first experience in magic by watching me perform the spell."  
  
"Will I have to participate?"  
  
"Not at the moment. You do not know enough about magic."  
  
"Okay, because I have to be home by eleven tonight."  
  
88  
  
Rath was waiting for her when Celestia entered the sphinx the next day. He was holding her jewelry in his gray hands. She had felt slightly naked without them on.  
  
"Are they done?" she asked him.  
  
"Of course. Why would I be giving them to you if they were not finished?"  
  
"You know, you sound like a Vulcan," Celestia said as she put her jewelry back on.  
  
"A what?" Rath was looking at her as if she'd sprouted wings or something else equally ridiculous.  
  
"A fictional race of people whose entire society is based on logic," she told him.  
  
"It might be better than being here," he looked at the walls of the sphinx that surrounded them.  
  
Celestia was looking down at her arms, turning them to see if there were any switches or buttons on the jewelry. "How do I work these?"  
  
"Just say 'With the strength of Ra' and they will transform."  
  
"With the strength of Ra," she aid to the air, feeling somewhat foolish. A flash of light blinded her momentarily. When her vision cleared, she saw that her clothes had morphed into armor. "It's perfect. Just like I imagined it."  
  
"I would hope so. You were the one who designed it, after all."  
  
She just shook her head and reached back over her shoulder. Her hand soon found the hilt of a sword and she pulled it out of its scabbard, the scrape of the metal sounding in her ears. She moved the weapon through the air in front of her, the artificial light glinting on the golden blade. Her head felt heavy from the weight of her headdress. She went to find a mirror and, surprisingly enough, it wasn't long before she found a full-length mirror. She looked herself over from head to toe.  
  
Her headdress was shaped like a snake head, but not a cobra as Rath's was. The eyes of the snake were purple as was the diamond on the top of its head. Her necklace had stretched and shifted to that it was not only the neckline of her chest plate, but the edges of the armholes as well. The tail of the snake served at the bottom boundary of the chest plate which was purple in the middle, but faded to ice blue in varying stripes of colors. The part of the tail that extended past her chest plate wrapped around her legs and unchanged skirt like a cat would wrap it tail around its body. Instead of one armband, she now wore two, one on each arm. Her bracelet had turned into two gauntlets, one on each arm, with purple, fingerless gloves that had a snake head design on the back. She had golden guards on her calves that were reminiscent of Greek armor. Her boots had turned into sandals with a gold strap down the front of her foot and one behind her heel. Six straps held each sandal together. The top two were purple and held the front strap to the one on the heel. The next two were royal blue and held the front strap to the sole about where the arch of her foot was. The last two were sky blue and connected the front strap to the sole at the toe.  
  
Suddenly, Rath's talisman started beeping and it flashed.  
  
"What does that mean?" she asked as she followed him through the halls.  
  
"The prince is in trouble," he replied as he headed for the garage. "With the strength of Ra!" he shouted, transforming as he ran.  
  
They reached the garage and saw that everyone else was already there and in the Hot-Ra. Nefer-Tina sat behind the wheel with Ja-Kal next to her, and Armon was in the backseat, leaving the middle two open. Rath and Celestia vaulted into their seats seconds before Nefer-Tina closed the canopy.  
  
She must have had the pedal pressed to the floor since Celestia got dizzy watching the scenery whiz past as little more than a green-and-brown blur. Soon, the car came to a screeching halt and Nefer-Tina retracted the canopy. Celestia disembarked with the rest of the guardians.  
  
Celestia saw that there was already a wall of shabties in front of Scarab. Presley was a constant blur of movement as he tried to loosen Scarab's hold on him. She pulled her sword back out of its sheath and stood next to Rath, taking up a fighting posture. She started out by playing defense. She only slashed at the shabties that came into range. Then, she started getting more aggressive, chasing after the stone men. She slowly fought her way forward, trying to reach Presley and Scarab.  
  
"You again?" Scarab hissed when he saw her. "You were enough of a nuisance last time!"  
  
She threw him a mischievous smile. "I'm sure I was. Now, I'll be even more of nuisance." She hit his hand with her sword, which was angled halfway between the slicing edge and the broadside. All it managed to do was take of a layer of skin, or two.  
  
"You really think that will stop me?" he asked disdainfully, taking one hand off of Presley and holding it above his head.  
  
She saw an energy ball form in his hand and tried to move, but it was too late. It hit her and she stumbled to the ground, hitting her head. Her view grew dim and she blacked out.  
  
"No, but this will," Rath called to Scarab, summoning his own energy. It didn't do much harm to Scarab, since he was already dressed in his armor, but it did scare him off. He flew away into the dark night.  
  
Presley ran over to the downed woman and knelt next to her, leaning over her. The four mummies also gathered in a group, waiting for Celestia to wake up.  
  
Celestia fought her way back to consciousness and forced herself to open her eyes. When she did she saw that everyone was standing over her. "Aren't you guys supposed to be off fighting the evil villains of the galaxy?" she asked in a dry voice, a smile tugging at her lips.  
  
"Why would we do that?" Rath asked. "Our job is to protect the prince."  
  
Celestia saw that he and the other mummies all had confused looks on their faces and burst out laughing. Presley laughed with her, enjoying he confused looks on the mummies' faces.  
  
88  
  
"A little bit of this, a pinch of that," Scarab muttered to himself, standing over a pot of boiling liquid. He stirred it. "A tablespoon." he trailed off, concentrating on the mixture in front of him.  
  
"What are you doing, Boss? Making soup?" Heka asked him, slithering into the room.  
  
"No, I'm making a potion that will ensure that girl is no longer a threat to us."  
  
Heka's eyes widened slightly. "You're going to kill her, Boss?"  
  
"No. It's going to be your job to make sure she takes this."  
  
"Of course, Boss," Heka said before slithering away again. "I never learn," she muttered to herself. "I always have to go into his lab when he's working I." 


	3. Potion

Disclaimers: Same as the last two chapters.  
  
Note: This is the third chapter in my first story about Celestia. I hope that this story will not be too long or wander.  
  
Celestia sat in restaurant, waiting for her food to come. It wasn't often that she got to eat out like this, but she enjoyed it when she could. Not that she or Presley could take the mummies much of anywhere. They, as the old saying went, "Stood out like sore thumbs".  
  
The waiter came up to her table with a tray balanced on his arm. He set her spaghetti and bread on the table with her soda. She thought that the soda tasted sort of weird, but ignored it, thinking it was just her. She didn't have this kind very often and didn't know exactly what it was supposed to taste like.  
  
Her mind turned to other things as she ate, such as when she was going to move in with them. It would have to be soon. She also thought about what she would bring with her. Besides the essentials, of course. She couldn't live without her computer, or her Nintendo for that matter. She would bring her collection of novels, her sketchpads, and her pencils. She would also bring her CD player and her favorite CDs.  
  
Her mind then started going off on tangents, so she stopped thinking.  
  
8-----------------------------------------------------------------------8  
  
Thud!'  
  
"Ouch!"  
  
Celestia held her foot in her hands, trying to balance on the other one. Armon poked his head into the room.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah," she replied, gritting her teeth. When the pain subsided, she went back to moving her dresser into place. It was a wooden dresser, probably about five feet tall, with five drawers in it. She had already moved her bed in, with some help from Ja-Kal and a few accidents.  
  
She was envious of the mummies because they couldn't feel pain. At least not physical pain.  
  
Next, she had to unpack her boxes full of clothes and everything else she'd brought with her. The next fun project was going to be setting up her machines and teaching the mummies how to use them without hurting the, or the mummies.  
  
She had a feeling that both Nefer-Tina and Rath would appreciate the Nintendo. Nefer-Tina beause it had a racing game with it. Rath because Nefer-Tina would play the Nintendo instead of crashing the Hot-Ra, or any of their other vehicles. Rath might learn to like the computer, especially if she got him an informative program. She would also have to introduce him to the public library. He would have fun in there. Probably too much fun, she thought.  
  
She decided to tackle the computer first. That would mean running some wire. She took one of the boxes out to the living room and opened it. She carefully took out the CPU and set it up on a card table she had put in the living room. It was fairly old, but had been heavily modified so that it had reached its maximum capacity. It had two hard drives, a CD drive, and, of course, a floppy disk drive. She had brought a few programs with her, but not many.  
  
She clipped her CD player to her belt and played a "Weird Al" CD while she worked. She hooked the monitor up first along with the keyboard and mouse. She then had to deal with running power wires to where the table was.  
  
She hadn't done this before, so she really had no clue as to how it was done, but she could make a pretty good guess. She got some spare wire that she had brought in anticipation of this and walked over to where the TV was. She disassembled the plug and part of the wall, and pulled out some wires. She then spliced the wire in her hand to the one from the wall. She unrolled the wire until it reached the table, then spliced the computer's power cord into it. She stood up and seated herslef in front of the computer. She pushed the power cord and was rather surprised when it didn't blow up in her face. It just refused to turn on.  
  
She worked for another few hours before finally giving up. and going to work on the Nintendo. That was easier to put together since you only had to hook some wires up to the TV and plug it in. She set it up in no time at all and turned it on.  
  
She spent the next hour or so playing Nintendo until her amulet started beeping. She stood up and turned off the game console before running at top speed to the garage.  
  
"With the strength of Ra!" she shouted as she ran. Again, they took the Hot-Ra to where Scarab had Presley.  
  
She pulled out her sword the minute she was out of the Hot-Ra and rushed the shabties, braver than last time. She sliced through the stone men as if they were butter.  
  
Scarab struggled to hold onto the squirming child in his arms, but he would let the young prince go once he had that girl. If this spell worked, he would perform it on the mummies and then he wouldn't have any obstacles standing between him and his goals. He waited until the girl was in range before muttering the activation spell under his breath. She suddenly stopped and looked around for a minute, confused. He then muttered a special command and she walked towards him. He smiled tightly and released Presley when she reached him. The young boy took her hand and tried to lead her away. She pulled her arm from his grasp and knocked him backwards. He backpedaled for a moment before regaining his balance and fleeing.  
  
No! Celestia screamed to herself as she watched her arm slap Presley and he ran away, frightened. Why am I doing this?  
  
It was like she wasn't in control of her own body. She felt her legs start moving towards Scarab and tried to run back to the Hot-Ra, but her legs wouldn't listen. She felt her arms grip Scarab's armor just before he flew away.  
  
8-----------------------------------------------------------------------8  
  
Celestia watched her body cooking dinner and taking it out to Scarab, protesting mentally all the way. She stopped in front of Scarab and he cupped her chin with one thin hand, tilting her head up so she was looking him in the eye. He gave an evil smile as if some thought was just occuring to him.  
  
"You are totally powerless," he informed her. He left her standing by the table as he ate.  
  
When he was done, he made her sit on his lap. "You will do anything I tell you," he whispered. Then he leaned close and kissed her on the lips.  
  
Ugh! she thought. Yuck! She felt sick as he continued to kiss her. He finally pulled away and made her stand up. He then stood up and led her to his bedroom. . .  
  
8-----------------------------------------------------------------------8  
  
Presley looked over at where Rath was sitting at his scroll table, muttering to himself. He had been doing this, as far as Presley could tell, pretty much constantly since Celestia had been captured.  
  
Presley got up and walked over to check on the tall, thin mummy. "What are you doing?" he asked.  
  
"I'm certain Scarab cast a spell on Celestia. I'm trying to figure out a way to break it."  
  
"I didn't know you cared about her so much."  
  
Rath looked up at Presley, his eyes boring holes through the boy, a frown on his thin lips.  
  
Presley backed up, waving his hands in front of him. "Okay. You don't like her. Forget I said anything."  
  
Rath turned back to his scroll, but something in Presley's question stirred a mirroring question deep inside him. He quickly suppressed it though. He only cared for her as he would for Ja-Kal or Nefer-Tina, as a comrade and fellow guardian. That was why he was working so hard to get her back. That was it. He nodded to himself and went back to work.  
  
8-----------------------------------------------------------------------8  
  
Rath's work was interrupted suddenly by his beeping amulet. He stood up and went to the Hot-Ra. He hopped in as they went off to rescue Presley again. Would that boy never learn common sense?  
  
When they arrived he saw that Celestia stod in front of Scarab, her sword at the ready. Now Rath knew that she must be under some sort of spell. She had a blank look on her face and seemed to be following Scarab's orders. She wouldn't fight against her friends willingly, would she?  
  
When he moved toward her, she suddenly became focused and lunged at him. He barely got his own sword up in time to deflect the blow. She continued attacking fiercely, but her eyes seeme to be pleading with him though she couldn't say anything.  
  
He nodded to her and moved back. She didn't pursue, so he started edging sideways. Nefer-Tina then moved forward, trying to get to the prince. Celestia attacked her as well. Nefer-Tina cracked her whip, trying to tangle the other woman up, but Celestia blocked it and sent it flying back at its sender.  
  
Rath had better things to do than watch Celestia fight her friends. He kept moving sideways, trying to hear what Scarab was saying to control Celestia. While he listened to Scarab carefully, he watched his companions fighting. Celestia seemed to be doing well. She could deflect Nefer-Tina's whip and duck away fron Armon's arm. She couldn't even get ner Ja-Kal, though, seeing as how he was flying above her.  
  
Ja-Kal flew around Scarab in circles, firing arrows down at him. One flaming arrow caught the hem of Scarab's robe and set it on fire. Scarab was distracted momentarily before he changed into his armor. Ja-Kal took advantage of that moment tp swoop down and grab Presley.  
  
Rath noticed that Celestia's eyes went blank again when Scarab was distracted. Then she moved backk towards Scarab and grabbed onto him as he took off.  
  
8-----------------------------------------------------------------------8  
  
Rath sat at his table again, working. He thought he had figured out the spell that Celestia had on her, but needed to veify it. He looked through scroll after scroll before finally finding the right one.  
  
On ce recipient ingested a special potion, then he or she could be controlled if someone said the right spell. He or she would then be under the control of whoever said the spell. Only the controller could release the controlled from the spell.  
  
He wasn't sure how, but he would have to gain control of Celestia during their next fight and bring her home. He had a lot of research to do before then, so he started immediately. 


	4. Trick

Disclaimers: Come on, people. You should know the drill by now.  
  
Note: This is the last chapter in this story, but there will be more stories with my character. I'm already working on some of them as I write this.  
  
Celestia walked around the house, doing chores for Scarab. Could he find nothing better for her to do? Wait, she told herself. I don't really want to know that. I'm sure he could find things a hundred times worse than chores for me to do. At least he isn't touching me.  
  
She wished she was back at the sphinx with the other mummies, showing them how to use the computer and the Nintendo, or taking Rath to the library. She was just wondering how she could disguise him without making him look to conspicuous.  
  
She felt her body being tugged in a different direction than her current heading and followed it. She couldn't have resisted if she wanted to. After a couple weeks of unwillingly living with Scarab, she knew where she was heading: the lab. She wondered what he could want with her.  
  
When she entered the lab, Scarab crooked a finger, summoning her.  
  
8-----------------------------------------------------------------------8  
  
Rath sat at his table, studying the scrolls in front of him. He barely noticed when Presley and the other mummies walked by him and ignored the weird looks they were giving him. He read over the same part of the scroll repeatedly, committing it to memory.  
  
He was hoping that he wouldn't have to give Celestia the potion again in order for him to take control. He was hoping that he just had to say the spell again when she was in range, and he would be able to free her.  
  
He heard a commotion in the front hall and stood up to go see what was the matter. He found it very hard to concentrate properly with that kind of noise going. Whoever was making the noise would bear the full brunt of his wrath.  
  
When he arrived in the front hall, he was not prepared for what he saw. Celestia was standing in the hallway, surrounded by the mummies and Presley. He wondered if Scarab had released her on his own, or if it was a ruse.  
  
She didn't appear to have the blank look on her face that she had in the battle, but there were ways around that.  
  
She walked farther into the sphinx and knelt down in front of the piece of machinery she had started hooking up earlier. He had watched her trying to connect it, with no success. Now, though, she had it done in under fifteen minutes. He looked carefully at her. There weren't many places in her clothes that could be used to conceal things.  
  
He wondered why she would have such trouble with the machine before, but not now. She might have learned how, but from Scarab?  
  
The potion had to be ingested, so if he kept her away from the kitchen, she wouldn't be able to slip it to any of them. Meanwhile, he would try to gain control of her. He walked up behind her, ready to recite the spell he had memorized.  
  
She spun to face him just as he stepped behind her. "Hey, Rath," she said.  
  
"Hello," he responded. He pretended to take interest in the game she was playing.  
  
"What do you find so interesting about the pause screen?" she asked, turning back to her game.  
  
"I was just trying to understand this new machine." He gestured to the small box in front of her that was hooked up to the television.  
  
"I'll start the game again so you can watch," she said as she pressed a small button on the controller in her hand.  
  
Rath watched the car on the screen race around various cities. He took a deep breath and prepared, again, to recite the spell. Again, Celestia turned to face him. "Want to play?"  
  
"No, thank you," he replied. How did she do that? Some kind of safeguard that Scarab had set up? He called the spell to mind again and was about to say it when Celestia spoke again.  
  
"Are you sure? It's really fun."  
  
"I said no."  
  
"Fine," she said happily, turning back to the game.  
  
Rath recited the spell under his breath before she could talk again. He wasn't sure if it worked, since she was still playing that game, seemingly oblivious to him. He muttered one of the commands, but Celestia continued acting like she had been since she arrived.  
  
He walked back to his table, feeling defeated. The spell hadn't worked. He had resigned himself to many long hours of hard work when another idea occurred to him.  
  
Since Scarab had had success with his first subject, he had probably sent her here to give the rest of them the same potion. That meant that she was probably carrying the potion with her. If he could find the potion and give it to her again, the spell would probably work.  
  
He knew that she went to bed at ten every night. He would just sneak into her room when she was asleep and find the potion. He went back to his table to study the spell and its commands, his mind made up.  
  
8-----------------------------------------------------------------------8  
  
Rath watched Celestia enter her room at ten and waited another half hour for her to fall asleep. He then tiptoed quietly to her room and opened the door without a sound.  
  
That was why he was surprised, and justifiably so, when he was pressed to the ground by the weight of a human body. His tall hat got knocked off his head and rolled a little before coming to a stop.  
  
He felt hands tightening around his throat and dismissed it. He didn't need to breathe, considering he was technically dead.  
  
He reached over his shoulder and grabbed his assailant's arms. He flipped her over onto her back, but it didn't keep her for long.  
  
She jumped back to her feet, her fingers curved in a facsimile of claws. She rushed at him, scratching his chest.  
  
He grabbed her wrists with his long, thin fingers and held them above her head. While she was disabled, he uttered a simple freezing spell.  
  
Her body went rigid and he set her carefully on the bed. He then proceeded to search her room, aware the entire time of her watching him with fury blazing in her eyes.  
  
Celestia watched Rath move around her room. She felt furious for some reason that she couldn't fathom. She tried to calm down, but her body wouldn't let her. He's my friend, she protested to her self, but she wouldn't listen.  
  
Rath finished searching the rest of her room without finding the potion. He knew that there was only one other place he hadn't looked. He walked over to her and stood over her, feeling uncomfortable.  
  
He didn't feel quite right. It's nothing you haven't seen before, he told himself, but he still didn't feel right invading her privacy this way. He started by searching inside her small shirt. He didn't find anything, so he searched the rest of her. He finally found a strap with four vials on it attached to her right leg.  
  
He held them up to the light, looking through them. Her mouth was still open from when he had frozen her, so he poured all four vials down her throat. He left her frozen on the bed and sat on the floor to wait until morning when the potion should have spread sufficiently.  
  
8-----------------------------------------------------------------------8  
  
Rath opened his eyes and saw that he was still in Celestia's room. But if his eyes were closed, then that meant that he had been sleeping. He shouldn't have to sleep. He dismissed it as unimportant and turned to see Celestia on the bed where he had left her. He said the spell that unfroze her and then the spell that controlled her. Her face adopted a blank look again and he uttered a simple command, just to make sure the spell worked.  
  
She slid her legs off the bed and stood in front of him. He then recited the spell that released her. She stumbled forward momentarily, not realizing that she had control over her own body again.  
  
He grabbed her before she fell on her face. She gripped his arms tightly and hauled herself upright. She looked at him, finally realizing what had happened. She flung her arms around him and hugged him tightly, tears of joy running down her cheeks.  
  
"Oh, thank you!" she cried. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"  
  
"You're welcome," he replied, trying to pry her off of him.  
  
She then remembered who it was she was hugging and moved away quickly. She noticed his hat, still on the floor, and picked it up. She handed it to him and he took it. He replaced it on his head, his dignity seeming to return with it.  
  
"Scarab will be suspicious if I don't return," she told him. "What should I do?"  
  
Rath thought for a moment. "Go back and tell him that you have completed your mission. He will probably launch an attack to lure us into his trap, much like he for did for you. Perhaps, we will finally be able to defeat him for good."  
  
"Okay." Celestia thought that plan sounded a bit like revenge, but she decided to go along with it. "I'll leave this afternoon. In the meantime, let me show you the computer."  
  
"Computer?" Rath asked as she led him out of the room to the machine she had just finished hooking up yesterday.  
  
8-----------------------------------------------------------------------8  
  
Scarab was just starting to wonder where the girl was when he heard her enter the house. He went to find her and saw that she was standing in the hallway, a blank expression on her face. Good, that meant that the spell was still working. "What of the mummies?" he asked her.  
  
"I have given them the potion, as you commanded," she reported.  
  
"Good. Suit up. We will draw them in by capturing the boy."  
  
"Yes, master," she replied. "With the strength of Ra!"  
  
Her armor encased her body and she followed Scarab out the door to find Presley.  
  
8-----------------------------------------------------------------------8  
  
Rath's amulet started beeping around two in the afternoon, as he had been expecting it to. He got up and quickly made his way to the Hot-Ra. They were soon at the site of conflict. Everything appeared to be as it was last time. Scarab holding Presley while Celestia seemed to play guard.  
  
Rath made sure that he was the first one to reach Celestia, since he hadn't told the others of his plan. They pretended to fight for a few seconds before Celestia cast a questioning glance his way.  
  
Rath nodded slightly and they both turned to face Scarab.  
  
"What are you doing?" Scarab cried. "Attack them!"  
  
Celestia smiled, savoring the moment. "No," she said defiantly.  
  
"What happened? What are you doing?"  
  
"One of the mummies was smart enough to figure out what was going on a free me," she replied. "This was all a trick."  
  
"No," Scarab hissed as Celestia advanced, her sword held high. He let go of Presley and activated his armor. "I will be back," he promised as he flew off.  
  
Nefer-Tina walked up to where Rath and Celestia were still standing. "Nice touch," she said approvingly, nodding slightly.  
  
"Thanks," Celestia replied. "It was Rath's idea."  
  
"Really?" Nefer-Tina turned to Rath. "I never knew you had it in you. We might teach you how to have fun yet."  
  
Rath sniffed and lifted his chin just a little higher. Celestia laughed at his obvious denial of Nefer-Tina's assessment. Nefer-Tina was the first one to join in the merriment, followed shortly after by Presley, Armon, and finally Ja-Kal.  
  
Celestia didn't know how he did it, but Rath managed to look imperious through the laughter. When they had finished, they went back to the Hot-Ra, and finally, home.  
  
THE END 


End file.
